Saturday, March 19, 2011

A Child Called "It"

A Child Called "It" is an inspirational story of a little boy who suffered through severe chid abuse. Dave Pelzer lives in a nightmare every second of his life and there is no way out of it. His achoholic mother beat him and played unthinkable "games" with him that almost killed him. David slept on a army cot in the basement of their house and ate from the scraps of the garbage can. The outside world had no idea, and he could do nothing about that. His mother threatened his life if he opened his mouth to the public. David's mother made him do extreme things such as put his hand on a burning stove, drink ammonia, eat unedible foods and re-eat them if his body refused to hold it down. She even stabbed him. He was beaten almost everyday. His family did nothing to stop this even though they were well aware of what went on behind the walls of their home. His father tried to help but the mother refused to let this happen. His own brother did not seem to care to watch everything happen because their mother made him think that David was simply an "it". He did not matter.

1) At one point in the story, David almost lost his will to live. If you went through what he did, would you give up on life?

2) Child abuse is a common and serious problem even today. What do you think should be done to the adults abusing these children like David's mother abused him? Should they be sentenced to death?

24 comments:

Morgan O 7-8 said...

1) I think it would be hard to find a reason to live. At the same time the hope that things would get better would give me something stronger to live for. I have no idea what it would be like to live in a situation even close to as bad as what this child had to go through though, so it is hard to say if I would loose the will to live or not.

2) I never believe in the death sentence but I definitely believe that parents who abuse their children need to be put in therapy and sent to jail possibly for life depending on how badly they abused their child.

Hannah K. 1-2 said...

1) I'm not sure if I would be strong enough to get through abuse like that and still have a will to live. Survival instinct is very strong, but I think I might have a limit when in that situation.
2) I don't think I believe in the death sentence, but I do think they should definitely be sentenced to life in prison.

Tyler W 1-2 said...

1. In situations like his, there would be a lot of problems and negative thoughts but i believe he should still move on and keep on living because you only live once.

Jacob C. 1-2 said...

1. It's horrible to admit it, but for me it would be very hard to find a reason to live after going through all that.

2. The death sentence is a bit extreme I think, even things like life in prison would be extreme. I would think maybe 5-10 years in prison would do justice as well as taking away custody of the child.

Unknown said...

1. If I went through what he did, as hard as it was, I would find hope to live. Even though it would be hard trying to find something to live for.

2. I do not think they should be sentenced to death but I think they should be sentenced to jail time. Also they should not be able to raise any more children as well as their own.

Sydney S. 1-2 said...

1. I agree with Renae. I would hope that I would have the will to live. I would try to convince myself that things would get better in the future. However, I really don't think I know for sure because I cannot even imagine being in a situation close to this.

2. I don't think that they should be sentenced to death, but I do think that they should be sentenced to life in prison. They should also get custody of their children taken away, obviously.

Megan M 1-2 said...

1. I would wish everyday that things would get better, but living a life like that, where no one cares about you and your own mother tries to kill you I would lose all hope and probably just give up.
2. I do not believe that a death sentence is ever exceptable, under any circumstance. However what his mother did was awful, and I honestly think a worse punishment is jail for life, so she can think about how horrible she really was.

Natesa W. 7-8 said...

1. I agree with Megan. I would try to have hope and think about a better future. But there is only so much someone can take. If even your mother is hurting you, I would probably lose hope.
2. I do not think they should be sentenced to death, but I think that they should be in jail for a lifetime depending on how severe the beatings were.

Sydney M 7-8 said...

1. I'd try and stay positive and have faith to live. But honestly how could you want to live after all the abuse David was put through? It was absolutely horrifying and if there was no way out then I think I would give up.

Heather B. 1-2 said...

1.) I honestly do not know if I would be strong enough to endure everything that David endured.

2.) I think a lifetime in prison would be a fair enough punishment.

Monica J. 1-2 said...

1. I think i would give up on life but i couldnt bring myself to actully commit suicide so i wuld have to find a reason for me to live.
2. No they shouldnt be sentenced to death even if it is there own fault and own will to hit there child they should be sentenced to prison and some people just dont have the responsibilty or are able to take care of children so they should be punished but not killed for it.

Josie D 7/8 said...

1. I think, I'd be quite tempted to just give up. I would probably hope that there would be something else for me once I was dead, soemthing better.
2. I do not think they should be setenced to death because I feel the death penalty is wrong. They should still be sentenced to life in prison with no parolle though.

jessica b 1/2 said...

1. If i was in his spot i think it would be hard to find a will to live but i would try my best and look on the bright side and hope that someday it will all get better.
2. Although i do not believe they should be put to death i think they should be put in jail for the rest of their life for torturing a child, with no other options, like that.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

1 If I lost the ability to love, I think I would have a very difficult life. Life is full of love, and it's part of what makes a human a human. However, I would not give up on life. I would be optimistic, even through tough times, in hope that things would improve.
2 I do not think child abuse should result in a death penalty, but in a life sentence of prison. The adult could learn what they did was wrong and talk to others and convince them it is wrong.

Avi D. 7/8 said...

1. Honestly I would give up on life. There is no reason for living so I wouldn't care. Yeah I would try to stay positive but eventually it would seem hopeless. I would give up.

Josh R. 1-2 said...

I don't think the death setence would be fair punishment for such a horrible crime. Time in prison would give them time to live in a terrible place with the guilt of their actions.

Freddy B. 7-8 said...

1. I agree with Avi. Especially at a young age, I don't think I would see a point in living.
2. I think they should be sentenced to long terms in jail, depending on how bad the abuse was.

Adam B. 7-8 said...

2) I don't think that death is appropriate in this situation but a long jail sentence and never being able to have kids or to watch over kids again is a reasonable punishment.

Nathan S. 7-8 said...

1. I think I'd almost definitely off myself. That existence isn't worth going trough.

Sevgim A.1-2 said...

1. I would want to give up at that point. I wouldn't want to live anymore after going through all that everyday. I wouldn't kill myself though. I would get through it and when it's all over tell someone so my mom or whoever hurt me could get some help.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

1) I feel as though if I were in his position I would give up on life and hope the torture would be over soon. Then again, I might have thought differently and told someone because the punishment couldn't have possibly gotten worse, so I couldve saved myself.

Kaitlyn K 7-8 said...

I think I would try my hardest to live just to show my mom that just because she is abusing me I will not give up on life and let her win.

Madi Y 7-8 said...

1. If I went through all the things that he did, I would have a hard time living. However, the hope that you can always change the future would keep me going in a new direction.
2. I think there needs to be drastic measures taken to get children out of abuse filled homes once and for all.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

Graded